IGN fans the flames of PSP vs. DS debate

Ah, fanboy debate. Nothing quite motivates those lurking in the darkest corners of the internet to pounce from their hiding places like some really intense debate over which handheld is the best. And, now IGN has just sounded the equivalent to a dinner bell, asking one and all to come and help them decide which is the better, the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP.

How do they decide this? Well, through the games.

IGN broke it down by genres, the first of which is the action/shooter. In this category, they noted games such as Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, Killzone: Liberation and GTA: Vice City Stories on the PSP, with only one mention of a DS game in Metroid Prime: Hunters. Here, they think the PSP takes the cake, but they do neglect to mention Contra 4. If you ask us, Contra 4 wins.

Next up is the action/adventure RPG genre where DS reigns supreme. With games such as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, it's an easy choice to go with the DS. The only PSP mention is Sid Meier's Pirates.



We now come to the fighting game genre, where IGN goes with the PSP. Titles Tekken: Dark Resurrection, The Warriors and Power Stone Collection cemented their choice, where DS games Bleach: The Blade of Fate and Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble. What about Jump Superstars and Jump Ultimate Stars, though?

In the miscellaneous category, Phoenix Wright, Animal Crossing: Wild World and Elite Beat Agents helps the DS to take the cake. Gitaroo Man Lives! helps to put up some kind of fight for the PSP, but no dice. The DS rules here.

Interesting stuff, when it comes to the platforming genre, as IGN saw fit to deem the two a tie here. With DS games such as New Super Mario Bros. and Sonic Rush Adventure, it was enough to compete with Daxter, LocoRoco and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters on the PSP. What the DS port of Rayman 2 though? That was a pretty good game, according to our memory.


Next, we have the puzzle genre. We already know the DS is king here, as about 75% of our DS library consists of amazing puzzle games. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlord, Picross DS and Tetris DS make solid showings, but we're kind of upset to see Meteos get neglected. Crush seemed to be the only PSP-exclusive game on the list.



The racing genre is one we're sure the DS isn't superior in, as Mario Kart DS is the only title we can honestly say deserves to be up for consideration. PSP games such as WipEout Pulse, Ridge Racer 2 and Burnout Dominator are mentioned. Having played WipEout Pulse ourselves, we're understanding of the award. And, the PSP also manages to win in the sports category, as the list of capable sports games on the DS isn't all that large. Just about every sports game on the PSP has received good marks from IGN.

Finally, we come down to the strategy genre. Here, DS games Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and Advance Wars: Dual Strike get mentioned, but what about Age of Empires? How about Front Mission? We're sure the PSP games mentioned are fine, but we're not sure we'd say both systems are a tie here.



So, is this completely bogus? Valid arguments all around? Any games we, or they, forgot? What say you?